Baghdad, Iraq – Iraqi and U.S. forces launched near Samarra on Thursday what they called the largest air assault since the invasion three years ago, while Iraq’s permanent National Assembly had a historic but uneventful first meeting in the capital.
At least 1,500 Iraqi and U.S. troops, supported by 50 U.S. attack helicopters, went door to door in the village of Al Jilam, north of Baghdad, searching for insurgents and their weapons.
The assault is the latest in a series of large-scale offensive operations over the past year and is distinguished by the use of assault helicopters, a specialty of the 101st Airborne Division, which mounted the attack.
The U.S. military said the raid, dubbed Operation Swarmer, was aimed at clearing “a suspected insurgent operating area” northeast of Samarra and was expected to last several days. The Pentagon said 41 people were arrested, but it was not clear if suspected insurgents put up any resistance.
Knight Ridder reported last month from Samarra that U.S. troops were gradually withdrawing from the area even as insurgent attacks continued.
Staff Sgt. Stan Lavery, an Army spokesman in Baghdad, said Thursday’s assault was intended to clear the area of insurgent activity. He said troops had recovered numerous weapons caches, including bomb-making materials and Iraqi military uniforms.
There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties.
Residents in the region said that the area under attack had become so full of insurgents that it was a virtual no-go zone for many of them.
Lavery said there was no breakdown available on the percentage of U.S. troops and Iraqi troops in the offensive, but he said the troops are from the Iraqi army’s 1st Brigade, 4th Division and the U.S. 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team and the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.
A military news release on the operation said, “Operation Swarmer follows closely the completion of a combined Iraqi-Coalition operation west of Samarra in early March that yielded substantial enemy weapons and equipment caches.”
The site of the assault is just northeast of Samarra, where an Islamic shrine was bombed in February.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi National Assembly met in Baghdad for the first time since the December elections, though nothing was accomplished beyond formalities.
Lawmakers read the Koran, recited poetry about Iraq’s unity and adjourned.
The atmosphere appeared tense, with little interaction between Sunni and Shiite assembly members. Braham Salih, a Kurdish representative, said a lot of work is still needed.
“We are facing big challenges, and our people are bleeding,” he said.
The inaugural session started the clock on a 60-day period in which parliament must elect a president and approve a prime minister and Cabinet.
Members noted continued disagreement over who will serve as prime minister, president and ministry heads, as well as the scope, purpose and powers of a new national security commission.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
